Indian orphans weave award-winning movie magic
By Sujoy Dhar
KOLKATA, India, (Reuters Life!) - When 10-year-old Sahiful Mondal from a children's shelter in eastern India won an international film award three years ago, many thought it was just a flash in the pan. Now he is 14 and with four accolades.
His success has highlighted the work of Muktaneer (Freedom House), a home for orphaned and homeless boys on the outskirts of Kolkata that is making a name for itself at international festivals for its documentaries made by children.
The boys' films have explored issues from HIV discrimination to environmental degradation and child poverty.
Muktaneer is run by the Centre for Communication and Development (CCD), a charity fighting to save children in West Bengal from abuse, poverty and trafficking.
Every year 2.1 million children in India die before their fifth birthday, mainly because of poverty-induced malnourishment, according to U.N. children's agency UNICEF.
The International Labour Organization said trafficking of Indian children is rampant. Victims end up in child labour or in the sex industry.
But a few lucky ones end up in Muktaneer.
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